bipolar disorder Archives - Page 26 of 37 - Bipolar Burble Blog

Getting Your Doctor to Take Your Bipolar Seriously if You’re High-Functioning

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Jul 25, 2013

I once wrote an article on high-functioning bipolar disorder. High-functioning bipolar disorder is bipolar disorder where the person can still function in the major areas of his or her life. So people with high-functioning bipolar disorder hold down jobs, pay their rent, have food in the fridge, shower, and maintain social relationships.

Many people with bipolar disorder do all those things. The thing is, many people don’t. And the tendency is to compare a person who functions highly to one who may not be able to work or pay bills or shower. When this comparison is made, it is assumed that the high-functioning person must not be that sick when compared to others. This leads to doctors not taking the illness seriously of the higher-functioning person. And this is too bad because it can lead to people with high-functioning bipolar disorder get suboptimal treatment.

So how do you get your doctor to take your bipolar seriously if you’re high-functioning?

How to Explain Bipolar Disorder to Others

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Jul 8, 2013

Some people say there’s no way that someone without a mental illness can understand what a person with bipolar disorder goes through. I suppose there is some truth to this; I’m sure I don’t understand what it’s like to be paraplegic even though I have a sense of what it would be like not to be able to walk.

Nevertheless, there are ways of explaining tough subjects, like bipolar disorder, to others, such that they have a better chance of understanding where we’re coming from. Here’s how to do it.

New Drug Approved for Bipolar Depression – Lurasidone

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Jul 3, 2013

I’m always going on and on about how there are only two medications approved to treat bipolar depression (quetiapine and a fluoxetine/olanzapine combination) and about how we need new, novel ways of treating depression in bipolar disorder.

Well, this might not be novel, but it is new.

Lurasidone (Latuda) has now been approved both as monotherapy and as adjunct therapy (with lithium or valproate) in the treatment of bipolar depression by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Lurasidone was tested and approved for people with bipolar I.

How a Person with Bipolar Thinks

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Jun 26, 2013

This is an interesting question: how does a person with bipolar disorder think? Of course, it’s hard for me to compare it with your average person as I have bipolar. I don’t have the two thought processes in my one brain to compare.

Nevertheless, I do have some ideas on how people with bipolar disorder think that seem to stand out amongst the “normals.”

Settling in a Relationship Because of Bipolar

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Jun 11, 2013

Do you feel broken? I sometimes do. I sometimes feel very broken. I sometimes feel like the bipolar disorder has damaged me beyond repair. I sometimes feel like the bipolar disorder has damaged me beyond reason.

I sometimes feel like it would be impossible for another human being with a functioning brain to want me.

And this is too bad because it can lead to some very bad decisions regarding relationships. I’ve seen people with bipolar who feel this way stay with people who were entirely beneath them because they feel like that broken toy. The person with bipolar disorder feels like she/he doesn’t deserve any better.

This may be wrong. This definitely is wrong. But it doesn’t mean that some part of our brains doesn’t still believe it.

I’m Not Myself Today – Feeling Bad About Feeling Bad

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Jun 3, 2013

As I’ve mentioned before, people with bipolar disorder, statistically, spend more time depressed than they do manic or hypomanic. People with bipolar II have it the worst. People with bipolar II can spend up to 35 times more time depressed than hypomanic. This means that if you’re a symptomatic bipolar II, you’re probably feeling depressed right now.

And, of course, depression is a big problem in bipolar disorder as there are only two Food and Drug Administration-approved treatments for bipolar depression (although other treatments are prescribed off label).

While that picture is dark, I would argue there is one aspect of depression that’s more within our control but is equally debilitating. It’s (often obsessively) feeling bad about feeling bad.

Am I Feeling Better or am I Hypomanic?

Posted by Natasha Tracy | May 30, 2013

This is an interesting question that was recently posed to me by a reader: Am I feeling better, or am I feeling hypomanic? Feeling better, of course, is the goal. Feeling hypomanic, of course, is not. One can be something to celebrate while the other can be something to be afraid of. So how does one tell the difference between plain wellness (or happiness) and hypomania?

Can You Treat Bipolar Disorder Without Medication?

Posted by Natasha Tracy | May 28, 2013

People ask me if they can treat their bipolar disorder without medication all the time. They think that I have some secret answer to give them. Like I secretly know something that doctors don’t. Like there is a giant conspiracy to keep non-medication treatments away from people with bipolar disorder.

Well there isn’t.

So let me answer the question: Can you treat bipolar disorder without medication?

The quick answer is: no, not really. The long answer is: sort of, a bit.

So here I outline the treatments I’m aware of that treat bipolar disorder without prescription medication (or neuromodulation, like electroconvulsive therapy or repetitive transcranaial magnetic stimulation).

Breakthrough Bipolar Events

Posted by Natasha Tracy | May 16, 2013

I was driving in my car yesterday morning, groceries in the back, a freshly frothed latte in the front, when I flipped to a radio station, heard one line of a song and started crying. The song lyric is inconsequential; I knew that then and know it now. What is consequential is that my bipolar disorder heard the song and used it as an excuse to be upset. My depression, my loathing, creeping, squirming depression, popped its fucking head up and made me burst into tears for no reason on a perfectly functional Wednesday morning. I had a breakthrough bipolar event.